


On Firm Ground

by AntarcticBird



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-28
Updated: 2016-04-28
Packaged: 2018-06-05 02:55:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6686341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AntarcticBird/pseuds/AntarcticBird
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They like being boring. That doesn't stop people from occasionally being interested. Which can, sometimes, lead to Jack blurting things out during interviews.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On Firm Ground

**Author's Note:**

> So, I just wanted to write down this headcanon that I had. And once that had reached 1k words I figured I might as well turn it into a ficlet. Because I love these boys. Anyway. Here's some fluff. <3

It's been a while since Jack's come out officially. First, to his teammates, most of whom loved Bitty immediately, (partly because of the year's supply of pie he'd baked them, partly because . . . well, Jack thinks, he's just Bitty, he can win anyone over), later, to the general public.

It had been okay, the coming out, Jack supposes. Or at least that's what everyone told him back then. That it was going well. That he had nothing to worry about and that this was the best possible outcome they could have hoped for.

He could have done without all of the attention, if he's being honest, without the sudden interest in his love life.

But then, even that had died down eventually, as soon as it became evident that he was really rather boring. 

Jack likes being boring. Especially if it means less cameras in his face. And really, what would anyone have even written about? There were no scandals then (since his return to the spotlight), there are none now. No big public break ups, no strange men on his arm. He's never even been spotted near any gay bars, and the only man he's ever seen with, holding hands and going out to dinner, is 'Eric R. Bittle, baker, long-term boyfriend and former Samwell teammate.'”

Their life really isn't worth a lot to a gossip-hungry press . . . Eric has his work at the bakery, Jack has his hockey, and once they both make it home at the end of a day they like to put up their feet and have dinner and talk about their days. On the weekends, they go running together, and then Jack puts on the history channel while Eric dances to his music in their giant, _giant_ kitchen, whipping them up a snack for later.

It's entirely lame. It's comfortable. It's perfect.

**

There's a sudden peak of curiosity once the news of their engagement becomes public knowledge.

**

Jack's just woken up when Eric shows him one of the articles on his phone, mostly amused by the months-old picture the magazine dug up of them – not even their faces are visible in it and it's horribly grainy. 

Jack sighs – not really annoyed, he knew that this was gonna happen – just morning-lazy and not really caring about anything but his amazingly cute fiancé next to him. 

Eric's such an enticing mix of entirely adorable and smoking hot in the morning, all sleep-rumpled and a little bleary-eyed and with so much freckled skin exposed for Jack to press his mouth to.

So he does just that.

“Put that phone away,” he tells Eric, “and tell me we have a few minutes before we need to get up.”

Eric drops the phone onto the nightstand and grins at him, that wicked little grin that always makes Jack's knees weak. “If you can live with leftover pie for breakfast instead of pancakes, you have half an hour.”

Jack puts the time to _very_ good use.

**

He gets asked about the engagement occasionally. It comes up in quite a lot of interviews. He starts cataloging how many variations interviewers find to ask “so we heard that you're getting married.” 

One asks him if he's looking forward to the wedding, which is honestly just weird. Like, if he weren't, why would he have said yes in the first place? 

But mostly it's just the same stuff over and over again and even if it makes him a little anxious at first, eventually it just becomes kind of tedious. 

Except that those “are you looking forward to getting married questions” for some reason seem to multiply the closer they get to the wedding. Everyone suddenly wants to know. He doesn't get it at first.

**

It's a few weeks before the wedding, after a game close to the end of the season, when he finally gets it. He's still sweaty from playing, the adrenaline slowly wearing off, and he is looking forward to getting changed and going home and snuggling up with Eric. Eric who he knows watched the game from their couch at home and is probably also watching this post-game interview that Jack would really very much like to skip, but he knows that's not an option.

Well. He's gonna get this over with and be done for the day, he's done this so many times by now, it's really not that big a deal.

Only then, once he's talked about the game, once the standard questions are answered and they should be done, the interviewer changes the topic. To his wedding. And Jack's feelings about it. 

And he doesn't even know why, suddenly it all just falls into place. And he's not sure whether he wants to get angry or laugh or just turn on his heel and walk away. 

Because. Yeah. Of course. They're waiting for him to snap. To do something rash and stupid. 

They're hoping to finally get their scandal he's denied them after recovering from his past – they're hoping he'll break under the pressure of . . . of what exactly? Getting married to the love of his life?

“So, you're getting married in just a few weeks,” the interviewer says, flashing him a toothy grin. “That's a really big step.”

Jack sighs very loudly and does his best to stay polite. “Yeah,” he says. Because. What else is he gonna say? Of course it's a big step. That is hardly news to him. He and Eric have spent actual months at this point talking through every last detail of the day itself and everything after. He's well aware of the sheer magnitude of the decision. And he's _happy_ about it. Fuck. He's _ecstatic_. He gets to marry _Eric Bittle_. They've been talking about it for _ever_. He's been thinking about it for much longer.

“How're you holding up?” the interviewer wants to know, leaning forward and actually _winking_ at him, and Jack just wants to shove him aside and go home and hug his fiancé until none of this matters anymore. “Not getting cold feet, are you?”

Jack blinks. “Uh,” he says. “No? I mean. I -” He sighs again, and he just can't anymore, like, what kind of a stupid question is that even? “You can believe me that I've thought this through, okay?” he says, a little impatiently now. What has any of this got to do with the game they just won anyway? “I wanted to ask him the day I graduated college, which was _years_ ago, so this is hardly a rash decision.” 

And with that, he excuses himself and marches off to get showered and changed and get home to the one person who's gonna be able to make him feel better now.

**

Eric is on him before he's even fully closed the door, jumping into his arms, wrapping his legs around Jack's waist, and kissing him, kissing him, until Jack almost fees his knees give, partly from exhaustion, partly because _holy wow_ Eric's, like _really kissing_ him.

“Hi,” Jack says, a little dazed, once they break apart for air.

“Hi,” Eric breathes, face a little flushed, eyes wet.

“Missed me, eh?” Jack asks. It's only been a few hours, but, well. He's missed him too.

Eric slides down to stand on his own two feet, not for a moment letting go of Jack, shaking his head at him a little, almost looking . . . exasperated? “I love you a lot, you know that?” he says, in lieu of an answer.

“I love you too,” Jack says, because, well. He does. Quite a lot, in fact.

Eric sits him down on the couch and cuddles with him like Jack knew he would, and Jack gets out all of his frustration about the interview and his worries about having been rude, and Eric plays with his hair and kisses him all over his face and brings him a slice of pie and a huge glass of water and gives him a foot rub.

**

It's once they're tucked into bed, turned towards each other, legs tangled, exchanging lazy kisses that might eventually lead somewhere, that Jack notices that little smile, that private little glow of delight in Eric's eyes.

“What is it?” he whispers, nudging their noses together.

“Oh, just.” Eric blushes a little. “Since graduation? Really?”

Jack frowns. “What – oh. I – uh.”

“You can't take it back now,” Eric informs him, smile widening, and he looks so . . . happy. “You said it. It's out there now. You've wanted to marry me since the day we first kissed.”

“Well.” Jack smiles back at him. “I mean, I – yeah. I don't know. I – just knew, that day, that I – I – uh -” he shrugs a little, snorts out a laugh. He sucks at words. But it's just . . . “I wanted to be with you. I mean, uh. You know, for real. Like, it wasn't casual, or – I just – I mean, I didn't really want to propose, obviously, I'm not crazy, but I just -”

“Sweetheart,” Eric says, and slides a hand into his hair, eyes still glistening, and Jack feels his heart pound in his chest, body thrumming with everything he feels for this man.

“I love you so much,” he says, a little desperately. At least these words he knows how to say, and they're so, so true.

“Oh honey,” Eric says, “I get it. I do. And . . . yeah. I knew too, back then. That you were special.”

“I'm glad,” Jack says, voice a little hoarse.

“I love you too.” Eric says. And he kisses him, and Jack is pretty sure that he can live through all of those interviews as long as he gets to have this at the end of every day.


End file.
